Gary Fitzgerald began playing the upright bass while in the Air Force in 1963. He met Ron Hart through jazz guitarist Bill deArango in 1971 and the two young men formed a jazz quartet and worked in clubs throughout the midwest. In 1972 Gary and Ron played in a trio with jazz drummer E.W. Wainwright and performed college concerts in Los Angeles. Gary later toured Europe with drummer Eddie Moore, violinist Michael White and woodwind player Russel Baba. He has also appeared with trumpeter Eddie Henderson and was the bassist in African Roots of Jazz. In 2009 Gary and Ron began working on their recent CD, "April in Paris."
Ron Hart received his BFA in Music Composition from Ohio University and continued his post-graduate work in Composition and Film Scoring at UCLA in 1978. He has played in concert and recorded with a variety of jazz, new age, rock and pop artists including Dionne Warwick, saxophonist Sonny Stitt, Harry "Sweets" Edison (Count Basie, Ben Webster), guitarist Bill deArango (Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker), bassist/producer Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock), drummer E.W. Wainwright (McCoy Tyner, Earl "Fatha" Hines), guitarist Jorge Strunz, Brazilian singer/guitarist Tomaz Lima, and many others.
In 1981 Ron started indie label ShadowLight Records along with publishing company ShadowLight Music and released the "Dancing Moments" vinyl LP by the jazz/fusion band, the Landress/Hart Group. He is the arranger and featured musician on the popular CD's "The Divine Gypsy" (1997) and "Where Golden Dreams Dwell" (2003), both published by Self-Realization Fellowship.
Ron was included in the 1992-1993 edition of Marquis Who's Who in Entertainment as a composer, musician and record company executive. In 2006 he created his current indie label, PureBeam Music, and in 2008 released "The Light Beyond the Atoms," a four-movement suite of original music featuring Ron on grand piano with synthesizer orchestration. A selection from the album was featured on Hearts of Space radio throughout North America and can be found in their online archives under Program 889 "Wistful." Also appearing on that show are jazz greats Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Herbie Mann and Jan Garbarek. (hos.com)
Ron collaborated with upright bassist Gary Fitzgerald on their jazz duo CD released in October, 2011 entitled, "April in Paris." The style of playing on the album ranges from mainstream to progressive jazz, including six standards and five originals and features dynamic interplay between the grand piano and the upright bass. An amazing jazz treatment of Hit the Road, Jack as well as other standards and originals will grab you.
Ron Hart Discography:
1966 - Ain't That Peculiar (Soul Impromptu) on Prism Records
1981 - Dancing Moments (Landress/Hart Group) on ShadowLight Records
1982 - The Divine Gypsy (Self-Realization Fellowship)
1983 - The Light Beyond the Atoms (Ron Hart) on ShadowLight Records
1984 - Just Behind Our Love (Ron Hart) on ShadowLight Records
1986 - Bouquet (Timmaris McDowell) on Heart Centered Music
1997 - The Divine Gypsy (Self-Realization Fellowship) re-released on CD
2001 - Ceu - Sounds of Magic (Tomaz Lima) on TLL Gravadora (Brazil)
2003 - Where Golden Dreams Dwell (Self-Realization Fellowship)
2008 - The Light Beyond the Atoms (Ron Hart) re-released CD on PureBeam Music
2011 - April in Paris (Ron Hart & Gary Fitzgerald) on PureBeam Music